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Chapter 203 - 203: 56: The Xia Country Princess Enters the Capital, The Country’s Fortune Transforms

The stationed army in Changning County immediately set off, rushing towards the north.

On the road, Pei Xiangyun noticed the solemn expression on Yu Qinghan’s face and couldn’t help but ask:

“Qing Han, have you discovered something new?”

Since the break of dawn, Qing Han’s expression had been quite uneasy.

Yu Qinghan frowned, “I have a bad feeling, something might have happened in the capital. A message arrived earlier indicating that the Ten States of the North have all been occupied by the Northern Wolf; I just hope that the situation isn’t too severe.”

Her greatest worry was that Shanhai Pass might have fallen before they can reach the capital city, which would put enormous pressure on the capital.

The entire northern region was on the brink of chaos.

This was the scenario she did not want to see.

The purpose of her journey north this time was to enter the palace and crown herself – an urgency sprung up when she received the news of the fall of the Ten States.

If the Northern Alien Races besiege the capital before she does, the situation would become even more severe.

Even for her, rescuing the situation would be challenging.

And that is why she was in such a hurry to head north.

At this moment, the army was passing through a village.

In the cracked and dry fields, a group of starving refugees wandered aimlessly on the road, their faces filled with desolation, looking like walking corpses.

The grains were all dead, even the wild grass couldn’t survive, the bark of the surrounding trees had been peeled clean, and even the soil was full of pits, presumably people had started eating dirt.

Many brought with them their families, moving forward with exhaustion amidst the fleeing crowd.

Upon seeing this desolate scene, Yu Qinghan was profoundly shocked.

Since the chaos three years ago, she had never seen such a scene under the rule of Xia Country.

This was the first time.

When she raised an army against Yan, wasn’t it to restore peace to the world?

She annihilated the rebels, punished the powerful, and revolted against Yan Country, simply because she couldn’t stand to see the mortal world turned into a hell where people eat people.

She saw once again this tragic scene.

Yu Qinghan couldn’t help but question herself.

When did Xia Country become just like Yan Country?

With these thoughts, she quickly dismounted, handed her long halberd to the guard beside her, and quickly approached to ask about the situation.

What on earth has happened up ahead?

Yu Qinghan walked over to an old man who was leaning on a cane, dressed in ragged clothes, and asked in as gentle a voice as possible:

“Old man, where are you all from?”

“Ha…

The old man with a cane had a thin and sallow appearance. Upon hearing her question, he showed no reaction, as if he were hard of hearing. He appeared dazed, his mouth slightly agape, his old eyes cloudy.

He seemed to be in a state of hunger-induced delirium, too weak to comprehend what Yu Qinghan was saying. Seeing this, Yu Qinghan called out to the side:

“Xiang Yun, bring some biscuits.”

Upon receiving the order, Pei Xiangyun took out a burnt biscuit from the horse’s saddlebag.

They couldn’t eat well on the journey, and their food mainly consisted of such dried biscuits.

After eating these with some water, they could quickly satiate their hunger.

“Qing Han, here.”

Yu Qinghan took the biscuit and handed it to the old man: “Eat, old man.”

The old man received the biscuit but did not rush to eat it. Instead, he glanced at his family who had backed away several steps with fear in their eyes. They appeared instinctively scared of the military.

This was especially true for a little girl being held by a woman.

Clearly, he was worried about his granddaughter.

Seeing this, Yu Qinghan sighed quietly, assured him, “Go ahead and eat, we have more, they won’t go hungry.”

She then tore the biscuit and stuffed it in the old man’s mouth.

The old man swallowed, ate the biscuit bit by bit, chewing with visible delight, his face filled with emotion.

As if it were a delicious feast.

The more Yu Qinghan watched, the more desolate she became, unable to even fathom.

What the North had turned into now.

After quickly finishing a biscuit and drinking some water, the old man’s complexion seemed a little better.

“Thank you, general…”

Finally, he could speak. His voice was dry and hoarse, but his tone was very touched.

Looking at Yu Qinghan’s attire, the old man had no idea of her rank and simply addressed her with respect as a general. “Old man, where are you all from?”

“And where are you headed to?”

Yu Qinghan did not forget to ask, pointing to the refugees on the road.

Exhaling deeply, the old man replied helplessly, “There’s war up north, all of us are fleeing. Too many ‘black wolves’, too many people have died. Those people have some sort of black magic that can destroy the city walls.”

These days, ordinary people had a hard life as it was.

And with the war happening, it was adding fuel to flames.

Apparently, the armies of the Northern Wolf Empire had already invaded.

Shanhai Pass might have already been compromised.

And it seemed that there were expert fighters in the Northern Wolf Empire.

The old man continued, “When I passed through the capital city, people there were saying that the Emperor seems to have died. It happened just these few days. Many nobles and officials have also been fleeing to the south, no fewer in number than us.”

Upon hearing this news, Yu Qinghan was stunned, overcome with shock.

The Emperor is dead!? Could it be that her second brother had died?

“Qing Han, did our cousin…”

Pei Xiangyun’s face was also full of shock; after all, Yu Yunping was, nominally, her cousin.

And besides, he was the new Emperor of Xia.

It had been so short a time, and he was already dead?

“Old man, is this true? The Emperor is dead?”

Yu Qinghan questioned again.

If her second brother truly had died, then in the entire Xia Country, she would be the only one left.

“Yes!”

The old man pondered a moment, squinting and recalling, “Lots of people in the capital said so. We didn’t linger much as we were driven out of the city soon, because the city does not accept refugees….”